Case study
The fake video meeting that cost HK$200m
The best-known deepfake fraud needed no hacking. A worker joined a meeting that looked and sounded like senior colleagues, and followed the instructions given.
Last reviewed against Building, Government Office for Science (UK Government) and The Register. Sources
The facts
What has been reported
Building named the firm as Arup on 17 May 2024 [1]. In its statement Arup referred to synthetic voices and pictures, said its financial stability and day-to-day operations were unaffected and said no internal system was compromised [1]. It added that it could not share details while enquiries continued [1].
The mechanics
Why it worked
The scheme borrowed the shape of an ordinary working day: a senior request, a group call and a payment instruction.
Recognition stood in for proof
Most people confirm who they are talking to by seeing and hearing them. Arup's chief information officer, Rob Greig, listed invoice fraud, phishing, WhatsApp voice spoofing and deepfakes among the attacks the firm faces regularly, and said such attempts had grown sharply in volume and polish in recent months [1].
A crowd removes doubt
A meeting that seems to include several senior people answers the question a single odd message would raise. Any control that relies on the worker feeling suspicious is weakest here.
Nothing for a security tool to catch
Because no internal system was compromised [1], there was no malware, login or alert to detect. The control has to live in the payment process.
What would help
Checks that interrupt the scheme
-
1
Send payments above a set limit to a second approver who was not in the meeting. -
2
Confirm new payees and unusual transfers by ringing a number the finance team already holds [9]. -
3
Read secrecy and speed as reasons to stop. -
4
Name a person staff can ask when a senior colleague makes an odd request. -
5
Apply the same checks whichever channel the request uses.
How far to generalise
This is a single reported fraud, and the details have not been made public by the firm [1]. It shows what a determined impersonator can arrange. It does not show how often the same thing happens.
Continue with voice cloning scams or payment approval checks.
Keep reading
Read next
Voice cloning
How criminals clone a voice to ask for urgent payments, what Report Fraud and Gartner say, and the call-back rules that defeat a convincing voice.
Read the guide
Payment checks
How to design payment and bank detail checks so a cloned voice or fake video call cannot release money: who approves, what is confirmed and how.
Read the guide
Spotting a fake
What to do when a call or video meeting seems off: the pressure signs that matter, why visual glitches are unreliable and what to ask instead.
Read the guideHow CyPro can help
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